Hong Kong comes fifth in world competitiveness ranking, Singapore takes top spot Hong Kong has clawed back to fifth place in an annual global ranking of the world’s most competitive countries and regions, while Asia-Pacific rival Singapore has moved up three spots to the top. The city climbed two places in the latest Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Ranking announced on Tuesday, with significant improvement in its economic performance as it jumped from 36th in 2023 to 11th this year. Hong Kong’s business efficiency and infrastructure were ranked seventh and ninth respectively. Its government efficiency dropped one spot to third. In response, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on his Facebook page: “The annual report fully affirms Hong Kong’s all-rounded and high-level competitiveness in multiple fields.” The administration said the ranking reflected the city’s economic recovery last year, citing support from the central government and local measures to boost market confidence, such as organising mega events and drives to lure capital and talent. According to a government spokesman, “good progress” had been made as the new measures were “implemented steadily” and the new rankings “recognised Hong Kong as one of the most competitive economies in the world”. The report said Hong Kong ranked first in international trade and business legislation, second in tax policy and third in international investment. The city also performed “strongly” in real gross domestic product growth per capita, and improved on goods and commercial services exports and tourism receipts. But the city ranked 65th out of 67 global economies in its management of inflation and rising living costs. The report also noted a decline in adaptability of government policy and transparency, highlighting “a downturn in Hong Kong’s standing in the rule of law index from 17th to 22nd”. “The decline in government efficiency is largely driven by decreases in public finance [from eighth to ninth place], institutional framework [from 11th to 12th place], and the societal framework [from 28th to 30th place],” Jose Caballero, senior economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center said in the report. Societal framework included indicators such as whether justice was fairly administered, as well as the level of social cohesion and political stability. Meanwhile, Singapore, reclaiming the top position that it last held in 2020, came in second in government efficiency. It beat Hong Kong in three key areas, coming in third in economic performance, second in business efficiency and fourth in infrastructure. The centre said Singapore had marked “a return to form” as the city state, which ranked fourth last year, had shown “a particularly robust performance” in government and business efficiency. The report mentioned that Singapore remained “well-positioned” in international trade and improved on international investment, while topping other indicators such as the availability of skilled labour. Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist with Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, noted that Hong Kong’s economy only rebounded last year while other regions had recovered in 2022 after the Covid-19 pandemic. The city still suffered from the “heavy aftereffects” of public policies that came out of the pandemic, but still had an edge in its tax regime, he added. The government recorded a deficit of HK$122 billion (US$15.61 billion) in the financial year 2022-23 and HK$100 billion in 2023-24. Its budget announced in February also predicted that its operating account would suffer a deficit this financial year ending in March 2025. Ng suggested the administration narrow this deficit by reviewing its workforce and streamlining internal procedures to cut costs, adding that the government should strengthen support on digital transformation by helping small-to-medium-sized enterprises. He said the city’s political image had also been tarnished in recent years and thus urged the government to promote Hong Kong as an economic market-driven city. Simon Lee Siu-po, an honorary fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Asia-Pacific Institute of Business, said the government still had to work on maintaining Hong Kong’s competitiveness despite the city gaining back fifth place on the chart. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3267019/hong-kong-ranks-5th-worlds-most-competitive-economies-singapore-jumps-top-spot (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post